1. Field
The present invention is generally in the field of jewelry, and applies specifically to jewelry comprised of multiple components linked together.
2. Jewelry
It is well understood in the jewelry industry that appearance of a product is paramount. Design features that add to appearance, beauty, interesting visual characteristics, or the perception of value are important. Anything that detracts from these attributes reduces marketability and is avoided. Jewelry designers go to great lengths to draw attention to the most important visual aspects of a product, and to minimize or conceal features that detract from the product's beauty.
Any design feature that enhances the esthetic aspects of jewelry (appearance) while concealing the necessary mechanical and practical aspects (wearability, mounting and security of gems, practicality, manufacturability, flexibility, etc.) can have a positive effect in the competitive marketplace.
Cost of production is another important factor, as complex manufacturing processes and expensive materials increase end-user price, which correlates inversely with market size or margins.
3. Coupling of Jewelry Components
Many necklaces, ear adornments, brooches, and other jewelry products are comprised of multiple elements of which one is attached to the wearer (to the ear, for example) as the primary element, and then another is connected to it by means of a formed wire eye in one and hook in another, the latter typically being manually closed during the assembly process. In some cases, the process is repeated, producing a chain of such elements, each connected to the next.
Such a process results in attractive and useful jewelry, but involves a tedious manual process that is costly due to the price of human labor. Further, the result is usually permanent and inflexible.
Another disadvantage of such loops and closed hooks is the visibility of the junctions, the mechanical form of which detracts from the appearance of the overall jewelry item.
Another disadvantage of conventional methods of attachment is that if a hook of a lower element is attached in an aperture behind the next upper element in the chain, the dependent element(s) will not ordinarily fall in a straight line below the topmost mounting point, as in an earring.
4. Prior Art
There are many known jewelry items, charm bracelets, earrings, pins, and similar products that allow the user to add and remove components, thus changing the configuration and appearance of the jewelry item. Various designs appear in patent filings and in the marketplace. In most cases, said changes are accomplished by use of clasps, screws, toggles or other moving parts, or involve costly complexity to achieve an acceptable level of security of the connection.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,461 by Bert, of Jan. 20, 1981, teaches jewelry comprised of links in which sheet metal loops are formed into one another, permanently. The forming of sheet metal into interconnected loops is permanent and does not enable choices by the wearer. Further, the nature of that permanent connection requires either labor to make it, or costly capital equipment to do it automatically.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,932 by Epstein, of Aug. 30, 1983, teaches jewelry comprised of links in which a loop of one component enters a slot in another component where it engages a flexible post, locking the two components together. This manufacturing method requires that said flexible post be deformed after engagement by said loop to make a secure connection, therefore requiring a labor step and also creating a more permanent connection that does not provide choices to the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,489 by Strong, of Aug. 16, 1988 teaches a multiple-component jewelry system with hooks and loops connecting elements thereof, where some security is achieved by using a relatively long “hook”, but this design fails to provide concealment of the connecting mechanism, which detracts from the appearance of the overall result.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,466 by Headley, of Sep. 10, 2002, teaches a jewelry connection method in which a prong is formed into one component and a precise receptacle is formed into a second component. When the two components are to be joined, the prong is fitted into the precise receptacle at an initial angle, and moved in a prescribed fashion to a different angle at which a lock is achieved, thus accomplishing a rigid junction. While this method can be made to be invisible, and is suitable for its purpose, it is costly to execute, and lacks flexibility. Further, the tooling and fabrication required to execute each connection is complex and costly. Finally, separating the connection requires simple rotation of one component over the other in only one plane through an arc of only 115 degrees, which increases risk of unplanned separation.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,036,339 by Chiu, of May 2, 2006, teaches linked jewelry components. In some aspects of the invention, one element has a hook and another has an attachment point for said hook, and the two elements are in close proximity. This approach requires great mechanical complexity, including the bending, adhesing, or soldering of parts. Some components are of such precision as to require milling, grinding, or other metalwork after molding, also increasing production cost. Further, the hook and latch combination is so configured that it lacks the security provided by the present invention.
These and similar methods seen in patent filings and in the marketplace are often suitable for the purposes for which they were intended, but fail to achieve the goals of simplicity, cost-effectiveness of production, versatility, security of connection, ease of use, and appearance as attained by the present invention.
5. Objectives
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a chain of some number of jewelry components that are invisibly yet securely attached one to another, thus enabling the user to assemble any number of said components into a sequence of any length, as a single piece of jewelry.
Another objective is to achieve standardized connection points of standardized geometry, permitting the joining of jewelry components that are identical or different while preserving the invisibility of the mechanical aspect of the junction.
Another objective is to create a geometry that permits all dependent elements of the jewelry system to hang in a line falling directly below the topmost center, as would be the case if the topmost center marks the center top of an earring and the jewelry elements were designed to fall directly below it with symmetry along the vertical axis of the jewelry system.
Another objective is to achieve said standardized, invisible, and simple connection points while preserving structural strength, ensuring security of the connection and reducing the probability that components will detach.
Another objective is to achieve said security while permitting the user to easily detach or add components, even when said components are of different styles, resulting in jewelry that expresses the user's taste.
Another objective is to enhance security of the connection by requiring that the two elements thereof be manipulated in at least two planes of rotation and at least 180 degrees of movement in order to separate them.
Another objective is to achieve said standardized and invisible connections in economical ways, preserving the cost-effectiveness of, and thus the market for, the end product.